Angel Beats! Be Human
by Sekai -The World
Summary: This is the story of Yuzuru and Kanade's Harmonics clone. This is not a story about fighting against the Shadow. This is the story of how Yuzuru try to help those lost souls that wandered her and how the Harmonics clone learn what it means to be human. AU from Harmonics Girl.
1. Chapter 1

**Angel Beats: Be Human**

**Disclaimer: I** **do** **not own** **Angel Beats**

**Warning: I** **am still studying so please** **forgive me if there is too much grammar mistake**

**Chapter 1**

**To Be Alive**

**If the cuffs of my pants get wet,**

**I can just wait until they dry.**

**Making sounds in the water, I jumped in.**

**You taught me this. I'm not afraid anymore.**

**I have to let go of this hand that was holding on to mine.**

**Even alone, I'll go on, even if it's painful.**

**I'll definitely take along the dream I saw with you.**

**It's nice to be with everyone; I was glad to be with everyone.**

**...But in the morning I woke up to, none of you are there.**

**If I look back now, not even a shadow is there.**

**Only a small pool of water was shining.**

**To live on is to stand and fight.**

**Once you understand that, all you need is the courage to step forward.**

**I'll go anywhere with the things that I learned here.**

**I'll show that I can make the dream called happiness come true.**

**Even if we're apart, no matter how far apart we become,**

**I will live on in a new morning.**

**Even alone, I'll go on. Even if I start to want to die,**

**I'll hear your voice telling me that I must not die.**

**Even if it's painful, even if darkness closes me in,**

**Deep in my heart, the lights will remain bright.**

**Turning and flowing along, time is transient.**

**What happened then? I can't remember,**

**But if I try closing my eyes, I hear everyone's laughing voices.**

**For some reason, that is now my most precious treasure.**

**-My Most Precious Treasure**

A few weeks has passed since everyone has moved on. The first few days alone in afterlife was the hardest moment of my life.

A world without NPCs

A world without the shadows

A world without the Afterlife Battlefront

A world without Kanade

Such was my life alone in afterlife.

* * *

I strolled by the empty corridor, hoping to see any NPC or human in sight. However as I thought, no one was there. I am all alone in this world.

NPC was the residents of this world. Even though they turned into shadows, they would eventually return back to normal and come to school again.

But for now, I am the only living soul that exist here. I have no one for company, no one to talk to, no one to laugh with.

...This loneliness, to think that Kanade was suffering this loneliness for such a long time. Even though I wished her to be with me, she has moved on and was happy. That was more than I could wish for.

I would not have wanted her to be here to suffer this loneliness too.

Without any thought of destination in mind, I simply walked and walked. The only sound I could hear was soft sound of my own footsteps. Not a single bird could be seen soaring outside. My legs grew to a halt by instinct, I turned my head and looked where have I stopped.

"...The Headquarter...It has been a long time since I came here..."

I managed a weak smile and opened the door-

"Ah, shit-"

_Bash!_

My smile fell off as the automatic hammer trap activated at the worst timing possible. My legs left the ground as I broke the window and flew through the sky again. That stupid Noda, causing trouble for me even though he has moved on. I swore if that hammer hit me agai-

_Crash!_

* * *

"...Ouch...how long has it been since I was hit by that hammer..."

I groaned in pain as I lied down in the middle of the field. Oddly though, the pain felt oddly refreshing. That was probably because I have not feel anything for a long time already. Some pain might actually keep me sane from this lifeless world.

But that was for later, I have just revived and was lazy to move my body. I relaxed my muscles and surveyed my surroundings.

The window that I broke when I flew has already regenerated. The sky was starting to become dark as dark clouds started to loom over the Afterlife school. This made me wondered if the four seasons existed in the Afterlife. It would be interesting if it snowed.

However what hit me was not snow but raindrops. From a slight drizzle to a pitter-pattering rain and then to a thunderstorm with dark clouds obscuring the entire sky. The entire school was covered by the rain. A new sound was created in the Afterlife world.

The rain drenched my NPC uniform. Since everyone was not here anymore, there was no need for the SSS to exist anymore. Right now the SSS uniform was kept in my room, it was the only thing I have left that would properly reminded me the time I spent with the SSS.

I let the cold raindrops hit my face. Since people do not fall sick here, there is no need to worry whether I would catch a cold or not. The cooling rain washed over my body, washing away the pain by the hammer and kept me comfortable.

"...Urgh...Damn those good for nothing..."

"!?"

At first I thought that that was the sound of the rain, however I was starting to hear footsteps and words. I opened my eyes and leapt up from the ground. As I turned around to face the owner of the voice, I could not believe what I saw.

"...Kanade...?"

Under the thunderstorm, the small fragile figure slowly walked towards me. Her dirtied white hair swayed with the wind. There was no doubt about it, that person was definitely Kanad-

No, Kanade is gone. That is a fact that will not change.

Then who is-

"...You...I know you!" The white haired girl lifted her head and glared at me. Her bloody crimson eyes shone in the dark. "You are the one responsible for this!"

"You are Kanade's clone!"

My hand automatically reached for my pocket where I hid my gun but it was not there. I never thought that I would have need that gun so it was also in my room. The only thing I have with me was a pair of knives that Yuri gave me last time.

"Guar-..Guard Skill: Handsonic!"

The clone could barely form a former sentence as she coughed out blood. However she still managed to summon her Angel Player. I have no choice left, I quickly took out the knives and prepared myself for battle.

"...She has no right arm?"

That was the first thing I noticed when I tried to spot a way to defeat the clone. There was only one blade emerging out of her left hand. Her right sleeves swayed with the wind as if she did not have a right arm in the first place.

The clone followed my gaze and looked at her right arm that was gone. She glared daggers at me and shouted fiercely in a way that Kanade would have never been able to do.

"A sad sight isn't it, this ugly appearance of the one that you loved. I lost this arm because of you! It is your fault that my arm was taken away from me!"

"Damn it! She's fast!"

I braced myself and put myself on a defensive stance. Like a bolt of lightning, the clone charged towards me with her left blade high. The blade slashed down on me, it was too fast for me to intercept. I barely escaped death as it grazed through my arm when I dodged to the side.

"I could still remember that day when the modified Harmonics was activated again! All of us were fated to be absorb back to the original! But I will not accept that kind of fate! I will not!"

The clone shouted at me when she missed and tried again. However I was faster.

"A clone like you...A clone like you have no right to exist in the first place!"

I thrusted my right knife towards the clone's defenceless right side. Anger was surging up within me when I saw the clone's face. It was Kanade's face yet it was not. When I saw that face, I was angry and sad. I had wanted to see that face again. But of all things it was the face of a clone. I felt that I was mocked by the afterlife itself.

The clone's face grimaced in pain when she felt the sharp pain entering her side. With overdrive, she leapt away from me with one huge jump kept her distance. With her only left hand, she endured the pain and pulled the knife out of her.

"I am not just some clone! I am not like that broken doll! I am myself, I will not let anyone deny my existence!"

"Don't you dare to call Kanade a broken doll!"

My eyebrows furrowed as I shouted back. It was for the first time since the incident with Naoi that I was so angry. I tightened my grip on my remaining knife on my right hand and charged at her.

Our blades clashed and released off blue sparks. Even though I was not as skilled as Yuri in terms of hand to hand combat, the clone's reaction and speed was slower than normal and only has one arm.

As our blades clashed, the clone's face started to change, it started to become nostalgic to me...

It started to become Kanade.

"_Because I came here to say thank you to you._

_I was able to stay alive because of your heart._

_Even now, your heart is beating in my chest."_

_**Kanade...**_

"_My one regret was being unable to say thank you to the person who saved my life._

_I wanted to tell you so badly that I got lost and wandered here."_

_**Kanade...**_

"_I realized it the first time I stabbed you._

_You didn't have a heart._

_You regained your memories when you were sleeping on my chest._

_Your body recognized the sound of its own heartbeat."_

_**Kanade...**_

"_Please, Yuzuru..._

_Say what you said earlier once more."_

_**Kanade...**_

"_Yuzuru!_

_Please!_

_Yuzuru!_

_Let me believe what you have always believed!_

_That living is wonderful!"_

"_**Kanade..."**_

"_Yuzuru!_

_Thank you, Yuzuru..._

_Thank you..."_

"_**Kanade..."**_

"_Thank you so much..._

_Thank you for loving me._

_This gift of life you gave me..._

_Thank you so much."_

"Kanade..."

"I am not Kanade!"

"!"

The clone's scream 'woke' me up from my memory. Kanade's face was no longer there anymore, it was the clone's face with distinct crimson eyes. When I came to, I was surprised what has happened.

Both of us were deeply wounded with slashed all over our body. However the clone seemed to be suffering the worst as there was a large slash over her leg, rendering her of her agility. An uncontrollable guilt swelled inside me when I looked at the clone.

_Did I really cause all of these wounds...?_

The clone could barely stand but she kept trying. Even though there were wounds all over her body, she continued to stand and face me. I was prepared for another powerful thrust by her combined power with her overdrive but she did not. She did what I never thought she would have done.

Her legs gave up on her and she fell onto the wet ground. She looked up at me and screamed.

"I...I am not Tachibana Kanade! I am a different existence! I am not just a clone! I have a soul! I have a heart! I have my own consciousness!"

* * *

_Flashback_

"_Hurry, someone has touched the Angel Player. Make this the last clone."_

"_I got it."_

'_I' heard what the other said and acknowledged. With time being limited, 'I' thought of a perfect title for the new clone._

"_A clone to surpass the original'_

"_Guard skill: Harmonics."_

_And thus, I was created._

* * *

**10**

"_The modified Harmonics has been activated. Within ten seconds we will return back to the original."_

**9**

_One of my sisters stated. We all knew what was happening. All of my sisters seemed to have accepted it, however I could not accept the thought of returning to the original._

_No, the thought of returning to the original frightened me._

**8**

"_No! There's still time! As long as we escape outside the one hundred meter radius, we can still live on!"_

"_But that's impossible."_

**7**

_Without even waiting for the others, I sprinted with all I have towards the exit. I have to live to surpass the original! There is no way that I will return to her!_

**6**

_There was only five second left, I reached the staircase and leapt all the way up._

**5**

_I arrived at the gymnasium. Even at above ground, I was far from the Harmonics' radius. I have to jump to the sky!_

**4**

_I crashed through the roof of the gymnasium and reached the sky but I was not high enough. The impact from crashing the roof slowed my jump._

**3**

_This was it, I failed. There was no way for me to get any higher anymore._

**2**

"_Don't give up."_

"_Eh?"_

_Before I could turn my head back, I was pushed by a strong impact all the way higher. I struggled against the sudden G force and turned back to look what happened._

**1**

_My sister that created me was descending from where I was previously. I tried to reach my hand towards her but I was far too high. As if we were synchronised by mind, I heard,_

"_Live on."_

**0**

"**ONEE-SAMA!"**

* * *

"Everything was taken away from me in mere ten seconds! I have lost everything! That's why I will continue to live on! I am a different existence! I live for my sisters that disappeared! That's why I will not allow you to deny my existence!"

The clone-no, the girl's scream pierced through the air of the afterlife school. However I am the only human now that can listen to her. Raindrops coursed down her cheeks, or was it actually tears?

"Even though I have lost one arm to the Harmonics radius, as long as I have my left arm, I will avenge my sisters! I will never forgive you, Otonashi Yuzuru!"

By now, the wounds on the girl has already healed. There was still a trace of the deep wound on her leg but she endured it. The pain on her leg could not be compared to the lost of her arm. The girl staggered on her trembling legs yet she continued to stand to face me. Her crimson eyes glared at me with deep hatred that froze me on the spot.

"Otonashi Yuzuru! You will not stop me from becoming human! That is because I have a reason to live!"

The girl's legs left the ground and charged at me. It was a normal charge without the help of Overdrive, she must be too tired to use it. It was a charge that I could easily dodged and stabbed her back to end the fight.

But that is not the way.

_Stab_

"... ..."

"... Wha..."

I clenched my teeth against the burning pain in my stomach. The girl was surprised when she realized that I did not dodge and accepted the full blow. She was going to pull back her handsonic but I wrapped my arms around her, pinning her to make sure that she could not escape me.

"What are you- Let me-"

"I am sorry."

"... What..?"

"For calling you a clone, I am sorry."

I wrapped my arms around her tighter and embraced her in a warm embrace. Like Kanade, she was small and fragile. I endured the pain and continued.

"I was wrong about you! You are not just a clone! You are a human being!"

"...Then, will you recognize my existence...?"

"I will! It does not matter if you come from a program! The truth is that you are here in my arms! That is the truth!"

I shouted out with all the energy I had left. With my blood loss, I was slowing loosing my consciousness. However there was something left that I needed to say!

"You are not Tachibana Kanade. You are yourself... ..."

"... ...Thank you, Otonashi Yuzuru... ..."

The soft whisper reached my ear and touched my heart. Her voice was the same as Kanade's but she was not her. Kanade was gone, the girl here was a different person.

The cold metal in my stomach vanished from existence. My consciousness failed me as I fell into the girl's embrace. I managed a smile for the birth of the new girl before I lost my consciousness.

* * *

... ... ...Ah...

...I died...

How did I die-

The girl...

"Are you awake?"

"... ..."

When I opened my eyes, a pair of crimson ones stared deeply into mine. The girl's face started to back away when I tried to sit up on the bed. I surveyed my surrounding and looked at the girl again.

"This is the infirmary?"

"Yes. After you died of blood loss, I brought you here. This seems to be the most logical place for you to take your time to heal."

The girl nodded at me and answered. All of her wounds has healed and she was wearing a new uniform from yesterday. However her right arm was still missing with only the sleeves.

"Your right arm...what happened?"

I looked at her arm and asked. The girl shifted uncomfortably but still answered.

"I was barely thrown high enough to pass the Harmonics Radius. When I wanted to reach out for my sister, it entered the radius and returned by to the original."

"Can't it heal somehow?"

"That is not possible. When my arm was 'returned' to the original, it meant that I no longer have a right arm anymore. This world can help us heal our body but concept of growth does not exist here. My right arm will never return."

The girl answered softly as she touched the sleeves where her right arm was supposed to be. I felt more guilty and apologized.

"It's alright. That fact that I was able to escape the Harmonics radius with my body intact was a miracle itself. Losing an arm is a cheap price for living."

"But-"

"You know, Otonashi-san. While you were recovering, I have thought through a lot of things. Things like my existence and my difference with the original. Otonashi-san, am I the same as the original?"

The girl asked and looked at me with her crimson eyes. Her red eyes were odd but at the same time, it felt _special_ for her to have red eyes. The most significant difference between her and Kanade would be that Kanade has yellow honey eyes and a right arm-

No, that is not the difference she wants.

"Not in any way. In terms of personality you two are like yin and yang, you are like Kanade's hidden evil twin."

"That's rude of you! I am not some evil twin!"

The girl pouted at my opinion. But the room was soon filled with the laughter of both of us. If it was Kanade, she would probably unable to make a comeback like that.

"So what are you going to do now?"

I asked after the laughter started to die down. The girl hesitated a while, thinking through her mind and answered.

"I am created with the mind of surpassing the original. So that means that I have to overcome weaknesses that the original have, right? Is there any particular weaknesses that the original has?"

"First of all, I think you need to fix the habit of calling Kanade 'Original'."

It kind of annoyed me that the girl kept on calling Kanade 'Original'. Even if she hated her, she should at least call her by her name.

The girl hesitated a while before she replied.

"... Then what should I call her?"

"Well technically she is your eldest sister..."

"I got it. Then Kanade-nee chan it is."

_Kanade-nee chan...I wonder what kind of face Kande would make if the girl call her that? It would have been amusing..._

I silently thought as I smiled towards the girl's answer. As the girl stared at me silently, I realized that I forgot to mention what kind of weaknesses Kanade has.

Kanade's weakness...This was a well known topic among the SSS when we were trying to find a way to defeat _Tenshi_. However in the end we used cheap tricks to force her down her student council president sit. That was the only and the worst Operation that succeeded against Kanade. Even now, I still regretted doing something that horrible to her.

Wait, Kanade is also a human, she also has a weakness.

Her weakness is...

"Kanade...Kanade's weakness is that she is too quiet."

"...Then does that mean I have to be as noisy as possible?"

"No, I like you current personality very much. I do not need another Yuri to mess with me like how she messed with Hinata last time."

"...?"

The girl was clueless towards my answer but I told that she do not need to know the details. I have nothing against Yuri but Hinata's stories of Yuri was truly terrifying. He was almost kicked down the roof everyday until Yuri became too busy with the entire SSS stuff to kick him.

"Kanade...she is ridiculously awkward. She is too quiet with other people and caused the entire battle with the SSS that way. If you want to surpass Kanade, you will have to know how to communicate with people...Ah but there is no one but us here in this world..."

I sighed when I realized what I said was impossible. A world with only two people, why did I stay here for in the first place? My purpose for staying here is to help those that are here-

No, the girl. I have to help the girl too. Even if there was only the two of us here, I have to help her, that was why I stayed back.

The girl pointed at the window behind my back. I turned my head and finally saw what I wanted to see for a long time.

"The NPCs are back?"

"Yes, some of them returned about an hour before you woke up. The effect of the shadows are starting to fade, by a few days all of the NPCs should be back in school. The Afterlife school will start to accept the souls of the people with regrets again."

I smiled at the girl's words. The school was going to be filled with life again. It was rather lonely and awkward in a school without anyone. But now the students are back, I also have the girl to help. That will keep me busy for a while.

"So talking to someone will make me surpass Kanade nee-chan? That's simple! Come, I will show you I am way better than Kanade nee-chan!"

The girl proudly said as she pulled me up from the bed. However she quickly released me and looked away when she realized I was half naked on top. Even with her face turned away, I could see a small shade of red on her face.

Amused, I laughed and told her to get out of the infirmary while I change.

* * *

After I have changed into a spare uniform in the infirmary, the girl and I headed towards the classrooms. I rarely seen Kanade talked to other people but since this girl has a more active personality, she should be fine.

As we walked by a classroom, there was a NPC girl inside sitting alone. She has long blond hair and a white ribbon on her. She was just sitting there without doing anything .Her classmates must have not return yet. This is her chance!

"Go talk to that girl. If you manage to strike up a conversation with her, it will prove that you are better than Kanade."

"Got it. Watch me, talking to a NPC is a piece of cake!"

Reassuring me with confidence and a smile that Kanade would not be able to make, she entered the classroom and approached the girl.

Since they were the only two girls in the classroom, the NPC immediately noticed the girl and made the first move to start the conversation. Well she was a NPC after all.

"Good morning. My name is Natsume Mafuyu. What is yours?"

"Good morning, Natsume-chan. My name is... ... ..."

Things was going pretty smoothly for the start but the girl suddenly stopped. Before I could figure out what was going on, she abandoned the girl and ran towards me.

"Ano...What is my name...?"

_Isn't it 'the girl'?_

I quickly swallowed back those words. It would not be wise to let her know I have been calling her 'the girl' in my mind all this time. I quickly whispered back to the girl- I meant her.

"Tachibana Kanade. Have you already forgotten about it?"

"No, I am not Kanade nee-chan. I will not use her name."

"But you-"

"I am myself. I am my own existence. You promised to recognise me as a different person, didn't you?"

Her crimson eyes stared into mine. I could see that she trusted me. It reminded me the eyes of Kanade when she entrusted me to help the SSS to move on. I smiled at asked her.

"Come on, do not keep the girl waiting. Then what do you want to call yourself?"

"I do not know. That's why I want you to name me."

"Me?"

"Yes. You are the only person that I trust in this world after all."

What she said was true, her eyes were filled with nothing but trust in me. She entrusted me to give her a name to represent her existence. That proved how much she trusted me.

But what name should I give her...

The first name that came to my mind is...

立華 和子

"Tachibana Kazuko...the child of harmony.."

"...But I am the child of harmonics, you do know that they have different meaning right?"

"Ah sorry, I will think of another-"

"...Kazuko...Alright!"

"Ah wait!"

Before I could think of a proper name for Kazuko, she already left my side and joined the NPC girl again. A bit happier than usual, she has a wide smile when she answered the girl.

"Good morning, Natsume-chan! My name is Tachibana Kazuko. Nice to meet you!"

It was a happy sight to see Kazuko able to talk to the girl. Even though I promised to treat her as an individual, I could not help but to imagine Kanade being the one smiling there. It was an impossible thought, but looking at Kazuko made me believe Kanade could smile like that too.

_Well my job here is done._

I smiled and prepared to leave the classroom. With her name settled, she should not have any problems anymore. She would be able to talk with people normally and made more friends. I took one last look at Kazuko before I left-

"So Tachibana-chan, what is your hobby?"

"... ... ... .. ..."

At that very moment, the last image I wanted to have of Kazuko's smiling was just an illusion. Her face froze as if she saw a ghost. Her head slowly turned to look at me. Instead of trust, tears were already at the brim of her eyes.

_...Livier or not, she sure isn't much different from her sister in terms of communicating with people after all..._

I sweatdropped and tried to think of a way to help her with this ridiculous situation. I never thought that the first problem I would encounter would be trying to help Kanade's clone make friends.

The Afterlife is truly mysterious and amusing indeed.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you for reading 'Angel Beats! Be Human'! This story does not aim for action with the shadows but instead aim for to be a mystery fanfiction of Yuzuru and Kazuko's lives of helping other people move on. Next chapter is going to be about one of the characters from Harmonics Girl to continue the story. Of course this story accepts more OCs to lengthen the story. The OC format is-**

**Name:**

**Last name:**

**Flaws:**

**Personality:**

**How she/he died: Most important detail of all, Eg: Yui's disabled condition**

**Appearance:**

**I am still young in terms of mystery so-**

**Please read and review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Angel Beats: Be Human**

**Disclaimer: I** **do** **not own** **Angel Beats**

**Warning: I** **am still studying so please** **forgive me if there is too much grammar mistake**

**Chapter 2**

**Harmonics Girl and the President**

"I know that Kanade Nee-chan used to do these paperworks but..."

"Shut up and quit slacking! The sooner we finish this I will treat you a plate of mapu to-"

"MAPU TOFU!? OVERDRIVE MAX POWER!"

"WAIT! IF YOU USE OVERDRIVE-"

_Crack!_

""..*Cough*..*Cough*...""

Both Yuzuru and I kept coughing until Yuzuru reached the window and opened it wide. The smoke started to fade from the room and I sighed a breath of relief. I still could not get use to the smell of the smoke when the table crashed-

Ah...the table...it crashed...again...

for the 52th time...

...

I hesitantly turned towards Yuzuru. Even though his hair is covering his eyes now, my 'Angel' sense are tingling. Worst of all, the lower half of his clothes were stained with brown ink- or rather, key coffee that fell along with the table when it broke. Even now the coffee was spilling out on the floor, making a brown pool under Yuzuru's shoes.

**"... ...Kazuko..."**

"I am sorry!"

I quickly bursted out of the room and made my escape. I did not dare to turn back nor stop. An angry president was the last thing anyone wanted to see in this world.

"Ah it's the vice president."

"Yo! Did you break the table again?"

"Or did you spill the president's key coffee?"

"Shut up!"

I shouted back at the students laughing at me. Since I broke the table of the student council room for 52 times already (not counting about spilling the president's key coffee), Yuzuru and I became the main topic of the school. In mere four days, I gained title of 'Runner girl', 'Destroyer', 'Key Spiller' and etc.

"Kamio-san!"

I braked when I finally reached my destination, the furniture making club aka Guild. I heard that Guild club never existed but it appeared in list of clubs when the Afterlife school reopened.

'Some NPCs must have some contact with the original guild member and got influenced by them. Well I checked with them and confirmed that they were NPCs so it's fine.'-was what Yuzuru explained to me.

"We have been expecting you, Tachibana-san!"

A guy with spiky hair and glasses opened the door and welcomed me in. This person was Kamio Reeichi, the president of the Guild. Due to my 'situation', I became acquainted with Reeichi quickly and he became one of the pillar that I needed to 'survive' in Afterlife.

Reeichi guided me in and led me to the center of the room where a long object stood, covered by a grey cloth. Reeichi pulled the cloth off and showed me another of his proud work.

"Behold! Ten layer steel-made Table! I dare you to break this one, Tachibana-san the Destroyer!"

"Don't call me the Destroyer!"

I pouted but Reeichi just laughed it away. Well it's not like I could say anything, especially when I destroyed 51 of his tables (the first one was the student council's original table). But I really hated the fact that the table was actually made before he knew that I broke the previous one. It was as if he knew that I was going to break it again-

"And do not worry! Our STD, aka Student council Table Defender team has already began our project of the next harder table! We promise that the quality of the next one will be even better than this one!"

"First of all, change that team name of yours! That name is so forceful that it's plain obvious you name it like that to laugh at us!"

"Hahahaha!"

I rolled my eyes when Reeichi just laughed it away again. If only Yuzuru did not make me promise to not hurt any NPCs, I would have summoned handsonic version four and smashed his broken brain already. I stared at the metallic table and sighed.

_Is there a good way for me to bring this table to the student council room without being laughed or scolded by Otonashi-san..._

_..._

_..._

_...None...*sigh*..._

* * *

"-and so, he made me redo all the paperwork that was stained by his coffee. Isn't he mean, Mafuyu-chan?"

"Well it's your fault in the first place..."

"Mafuyu...if you don't stand on my side, who will..."

I complained with my body laid over Mafuyu's table. Mafuyu sweatdropped and offered me some sweets to cheer me up. I gratefully took the mapo tofu flavor sweet (do not ask, I know you want to shout something but don't) and ate it.

Ever since my first conversation with Mafuyu, we quickly became friends. While I did not attend any classes, I would find Mafuyu during her lunch break to chat with her. Sometimes Mafuyu's classroom was also a place for me to seek refuge if I made Yuzuru angry again.

"You are very close to the president, aren't you?"

"Hm? Well if you think logically...I am pretty much the closest person to that loner president!"

"Hahaha..."

For some reason, Mafuyu made a weak laugh as if I made the wrong response.

"I do not mean it by that. When I say close...I mean are you in love with him?"

"...I like the president, that is a fact."

**"!"**

It was not just Mafuyu, the entire class that was eavesdropping on our conversation gaped in surprise. Did I say something wrong? Was liking the president a sin like drinking his key coffee?

Mafuyu turned around and glared at the classmates that eavesdropped on us. Mafuyu has some fame of her own for being the cutest girl in her level so her 'glare' chased everyone away. They would not want to be hated by Mafuyu after all. Going to the door and glared away those that still wanted to eavesdrop, she locked the door and faced me with a serious expression.

"Kazuko-chan, do you really like the president?"

"...I do?"

"Do you really really like _like_ the president?"

"What's up with everyone? The president feeds me mapo tofu, keeps me company and teaches me a lot of things. Why shouldn't I like him?"

"...So it's only that kind of _like_..."

"?"

Mafuyu looked depressed when she heard my answer. I wondered what was up with the NPCs. Was this an unusual bug somewhere in the world?

_Tink Tonk~_

"Ah the bell rang. Then I will come back after-"

**"Sit."**

"!"

My body sat back down on the chair by fear instinct. I could feel it, around Mafuyu there was a odd but powerful aura around her. I have a bad feeling about this...

"Erm..Mafuyu-chan? The teacher is banging the door-"

"Shut up! As your friend, I cannot overlook such lack of common sense! Until you understand what is love, you will not leave this classroom!"

"Eh!?"

I have a feeling that I pushed the wrong button on Mafuyu today. Even though I wanted to run away with overdrive, the overwhelming aura of Mafuyu kept me on the chair as my lesson with Natsume sensei began.

* * *

"-and that happened."

"Seriously, you picked mapo tofu over me?"

"I love mapo tofu~!"

I happily dug into the plate of mapo tofu that Yuzuru treated me. Yuzuru made a heavy sigh and dug into his mapo tofu too.

"Ah it's spicy! How can you eat this without rice or water!?"

"That's simply because your love for mapo tofu isn't enough~!"

"I will stick to meat udon next time."

Yuzuru declared and continued to eat his meal with water. Even though it was a pity that Yuzuru could not enjoy the full taste of pure mapo tofu without anything, it was enough since he treated me.

It was dinner time with students like us crowding in the cafeteria. I heard that there used to be a band that played performance here. However they have moved on. Some of the NPCs seemed to have remembered them and would often took a look at the stage where the GirlDemo once made their performance.

"Okay, onto the main topic. Have you completed it?"

"The skill 'Memoir Touch'? After my lesson with Mafuyu, I managed to complete it in my room in mere ten minutes. Aren't I great?"

"Shut up and eat your mapo tofu."

"Mapo~"

Yuzuru shutted my boosting attitude up with a spoon of mapo tofu straight to my mouth. Taking his spoon back and continued eating, he asked.

"So what does that skill do?"

"Heh, a live demonstration would be preferable, would it? _**Guard skill: Memoir Touch.**_"

"Wait what-"

Yuzuru gaped in surprise but he was too late. I activated the skill and touched his hand-

"_Amazing! Hey, can you see it? It's amazing!"_

"_Yes...It's very pretty."_

_Walking with the flow of the crowd surrounded by bright trees, my sister and I walked together in the behind me weakly replied._

"_It is, right? Its so pretty. I am glad I came to see this too. Thanks to you!"_

_I smiled as I carried Hatsune through the night. The world was beautiful. Bringing my sister out to celebrate christmas together, it was the most happiest moment in my life._

"_We'll have even more fun from now on! First I will get you a present. I will buy anything you want. Your brother have saved up lots of spending money just for this day, so I will get you anything, no matter how expensive. What do you want? How about we start by going to the store? We could even go to a jewelers! Or maybe you'd prefer a normal department store?"_

_I was excited. This was my first time spending time outside with Hatsune. I wanted to make this the most memorable day for Hatsune and me._

"_Onii-chan...Thank you."_

_Hatsune behind my back replied weakly. I smiled at her response and continued_

"_Yeah...And there's even more after we go shopping! Look forward to it! We'll do dinner for now! I don't know much about this stuff, but I got a reservation for a great restaurant I saw in a magazine. They make a set meal for you. A full course dinner! Amazing, right?"_

_After that, I continued to walk and talk to myself-_

"**Stop it!"**

Yuzuru shouted when he pulled his hand away from me. The plates were hit by his hand and broke when it fell onto the floor. The loud noise attracted the attention of the students in the cafeteria.

"Ah...sorry..."

Yuzuru calmed down and stared at the damage he has done. He started to kneel down and picked up the pieces of the plates. I could do nothing but just stared at him.

"Otonashi-san...I..."

"Don't worry about it...I am sure it isn't intentional."

Yuzuru gave me a reassuring smile and sat back on his chair. He acted as if those memories have little impact on him. He was still wearing his smile.

"Sorry about that. Don't worry I still have a mapo tofu ticket left. If you like-"

"...No. I have no appetite anymore. Please excuse me."

I stood up and left the cafeteria as fast as my walking speed could take me. I do not want to stay there anymore. Yuzuru looked as if he wanted to chase after me but he stopped. Without looking back, I left the cafeteria.

* * *

_That is Otonashi-san's memory..._

I thought as I stared at dark sky before me. Among the darkness, the stars stood up in the night. It was a beautiful sight but it did nothing to help cure my _sickness_.

**This world is made for the people with regrets to move on.**

**Regrets? What kind of regrets would make people unable to move on?**

**...there are many kinds. Some may wanted to say something to someone they never did. Some may wanted to do something they never had the chance to did in life. Some may have suffered despair and hated god.**

_This feeling...this memory of Otonashi-san's...is this despair?_

I thought as I clutched my heart. It felt so painful watching Yuzuru's memory. I felt as if my heart would rip at any moment.

_What about Otonashi-san? He has been carrying this despair for his life._

"I knew that you would be here."

"...Otonashi-san..."

Yuzuru slowly approached me and leaned at the railing beside me. He held a Key Coffee to me. I hesitatingly accepted it and drank it.

"It's bitter!"

"Is that also? I thought the flavor was just nice."

I almost spilled the coffee out but I resisted. I endured the bitterness and drank the cold coffee down. Unexpectedly, I felt quite relieved after drinking it. It was as if a burden was lifted from my heart.

"Coffee tend to give you more energy. The school's vending machine is full of drinks that will boost the people's mood, probably a small function to help people move on."

"That's an interesting fact you found..."

I commented and took another slip of the key coffee. However no matter how much I drank, it would not totally lift the burden in my heart.

"That girl you saw in my memory..that girl is my little sister, Otonashi Hatsune. She died on that night without me noticing."

"... ...How...? How do you endure such despair? Even though I am not the one that experienced it, I feel as if my heart is going to break!"

I screamed into the night. Now I know, the only way to lift this burden is to ask how did Yuzuru do it.

Yuzuru looked at the stars above us. They were shining brightly as if they were watching over us. I wondered, it they were really stars or light that existed in this world for this scenery.

"Tachibana-chan, use that skill on my again."

"!"

I glanced back at Yuzuru. His face was calm and reassuring, as if telling me to trust him to take the despair away from me. But if I tried the skill again, I might obtained more despair.

But I trust Yuzuru. I reached my hand and touched his.

"**Guard skill: Memoir Touch."**

_This time, there was not only one memory. Different memories of different time were shown to me._

_There was a time when the brother was crying. It was the hardest time of his life._

_There was a time when the brother found a new reason to live. He worked hard to become a doctor to help others._

_There was a time after the train he was taking met an accident. He became the leader of the surviving people and managed to save almost everyone but himself._

_There was a time when he first arrived in the afterlife and met the leader of the Afterlife Battlefront. It was also the time he first met the angel._

_There was a time when he listened to the last song of a girl who lost her voice in her life. That song was a song that he would never forget._

_There was a time when spend time with his comrades in the SSS. He was glad to have such company._

_There was a time when he first talked to the angel properly. He got to knew the angel more._

_There was a time he helped a boy who did not have his own existence in the world. He told him that he was real and here._

_There was a time when everyone could finally get along with the angel. He was happy to the SSS accepted her._

_There was a time he has to save the angel from the clones. That was one of the most worried time in his life. He was afraid if he would ever be able to save the angel._

_There was a time when he decided to help a girl to move on. From her, he learnt the life of a disabled. He learnt that simply helping a person to do what she wanted was not moving on._

_There was a time when the shadows came. It was a terrifying moment. But in the end, they managed to convince everyone to move on._

_There was a time when there were five people left. The brother watched as all of his friends slowly moved on one by one._

_There was a time he confessed to the angel. But he soon regretted it. He did not want the angel to leave him but he know that he has to let her go. Because he made her believed, 'living is wonderful'._

_There was a time where nothing happened. The school was dead but him. There was simply nothing there._

_Then, a girl appeared. Both the brother and the girl fought. The truth was the brother was relieved with the existence of the girl. She have him someone to talk to._

_She gave him hope._

"Thank you, Kazuko-chan, for giving me hope to continue to stay here."

"...Otonashi-san..."

Nothing came out anymore. There was simply nothing left for me to see. Yuzuru has given me all of his memory. He has entrusted me with _him_. He gave me all the despair, suffering, happiness, sadness and most important of all, hope.

My hand still refused to be part with his. I wanted the warmth in my hand to continue to stay forever. I wondered why, Mafuyu's words rang inside me.

_**If you start to desire someone's warmth, that means that you love that person!**_

_I desire...Oto-_

_*Growl*_

"Kya!"

I yelped when my stomach growled. Even though I tried to cover my stomach, it would not stop growling. _This is embarrassing!_

"Hahaha."

"Don't laugh, Otonashi-san!"

Nevertheless, Yuzuru kept on laughing. I felt so embarrassed that I wanted to just jump from the rooftop and died. No, let's do that.

"Don't be reckless! Dying would not cure your hunger! You should have seen it in one of my memories after Operation High Tension Syndrome!"

"Uuu..."

I let myself to be pulled down when I recalled Otonashi's memory of that event-

_*Growled*_

Great, recalling that made me more hungry...

"Come on, the cafeteria should still be open. If you do not want this mapo tofu ticket then I am going to use it for myself!"

"Wait! I want that!"

I started chasing after Yuzuru as he made his escape. We were like little children playing catch. There were laughter from the students that witnessed us but I did not mind. It was fun!

I chased Yuzuru into the cafeteria. Even now, the cafeteria is filled with people. I have to squeeze through to get to Yuzu-

_It was a white room. The thunderstorm outside the window raged. I cried for the girl with long white hair before me. It isn't fair! Why! Why must she die again!?_

"_Kanade-chan! Hang in there! Kanade-chan!"_

"_...I am sorry...Kai..."_

The memory was gone. My connection with the memory was cut. Since I did not turn off my Memoir Touch just now-

_That was a person's memory!_

I came to a conclusion and looked around me. I was swarmed with people that I could not recognize who did my hand touched just now. I tried to recall that memory again. There was a girl in the white room. She has long white hair and honey eyes. I knew this person.

_Kanade-neechan?_

* * *

**A/N: Thanks to Zangetsu, Kenjichau and X-Blade for the review! Special thanks to kenjichau for the character!**

**I have not much to say here so,**

**Read and Review!**


	3. Chapter 3: The Fifth Afternoon

**Angel Beats: Be Human**

**Disclaimer: I** **do** **not own** **Angel Beats**

**Warning: I** **am still studying so please** **forgive me if there is too much grammar mistake**

**Chapter 3**

**The fifth afternoon**

"You touched someone else's memories?"

"That's right, it happened last night. There was definitely a human in the cafeteria last night."

"Hmm…"

Yuzuru took a slip of his key coffee and closed his eyes in deep thought. I did not want to spoil the fun mood I have with Yuzuru yesterday so I hid it until the next day.

Yuzuru's eyes opened, he has made a decision about the matter-

"I am out of key coffee, please go and help me get another can."

"Who gives a damn about key coffee!? The main problem is about the human, isn't it!? Only an idiot would think about key coffee at times like-ah."

I realized my mistake a second too late. Yuzuru was already glaring at me.

"So are you calling me an idiot…?"

"Of-Of course not, Otonashi-san! Key coffee is it? I will get it right away!"

"Don't you run away now, Kazuko!"

_Bam!_

I slammed the door behind me and rushed out of the classroom. Insulting Yuzuru was a bad course of action, it could have resulted me loss of free mapo tofu for a week or worst, he would change the school rules so that mapo tofu would be banned!

It happened in two days after I met Yuzuru. Since he was drinking key coffee so often, I could not resist the urge anymore and took a slip from his can of key coffee. Yuzuru seemed to blush for no reason; I wanted to tease him about that but the surge of bitterness that overflowed in my throat made me suffocated for mapo tofu.

"_Otonashi-san! How can you drink this kind of dirt water!? I am surprised that they have not ban drinks as bitter and dirty as this!"_

"_!"_

Then Yuzuru looks like he suffered a heart attack even though he has no heart to begin with. Yuzuru was silent for a while, but the silence was not long. Soon he started cackling like a mad man and declared,

"_So key coffee should be banned because of its bitterness? So be it, but before that the mapo tofu that was spicy to the point that no one eats it should be banned. No, in the name of the president, I officially ban mapo tofu from the cafeteria now!"_

"_What! You wouldn't!"_

"_I will! Prepare to continue living without mapo tofu for the rest of your afterlife!"_

"_Noooooo!"_

My cry was ignored and mapo tofu was taken off the list for the next day. I managed to last for the first half of the day but I lost it at dinner. I threw a tantrum so bad that I destroyed the student council's table again. Yuzuru made an old man laugh before he returned mapo tofu back to the world.

Yuzuru now holds the power of this world, his words are absolute. He was like the god of this world.

"You sure are back early- you even bought one more for yourself, what a rare occasion."

"Eh?"

I stared at Yuzuru and looked down at my only left hand. On top of the key coffee I was holding was another can of key coffee, a sweeter flavour. I must have accidentally bought it when my mind was focusing on the bad memories just now.

I do not really like the bitterness of the key coffee but the sweeter flavour tasted like chocolate. I gave the original bitter flavour to Yuzuru and opened mine while seating opposite him.

The student council's room used to have quite a number of long tables because it had quite a lot of councillors back then when Kanade nee-chan and Naoi-san were in charge. However Yuzuru pulled the extra tables out when he decided that he alone would not use that many table and he was not going to recruit any NPCs to help him. So now our wide student council's room only have a ten layer steel made table in the middle of the room. It was so wide that we could play table tennis here.

No, how about we just do that? We are not doing anything important now anyway.

"Otonashi-san, do you want to play table tennis? It will be fun!"

"Table tennis? The main problem in our hand is that we finally have a human in afterlife and now you want to play table tennis? Do you not realize the situation?"

_You are the one not realizing the situation just now!_

Since I could not effort to anger Yuzuru for the sake of mapo tofu, I put on a fake fidgeting smile. Yuzuru put down his now empty key coffee and started his explanation of the situation.

_Wait, he finished the can of coffee already!?_

My thoughts went ignored as Yuzuru started his explanation.

"From what you told me, I could assume that the afterlife has completed its recovery and was starting to accept regretful souls into the afterlife. They must have hidden themselves when they still could not understand what is going on. The only way to know who is human is for you to touch them with your 'Memoir Touch'. Unexpectedly, you have become very useful."

"Wait, I get everything but what is the last line supposed to mean?"

I stared at Yuzuru suspiciously but he just shrugged it away and continued, a professional way to insult others while preventing others to counterattack. I will learn to use it against him next time.

"These humans would probably be a bit more rebellious than the NPCs. Try to do more patrols to see if you can find students who are breaking the school rules. There is a high possibility they are humans."

"What about paperwork?"

"I will handle them. Actually, I can probably handle them faster if you are not around to complain and destroy the table."

"Hey!"

"Off you go. Remember to buy a can of key coffee for me when you come back."

"Yes, yes, I got it, coffee addict president."

"You, what did you-"

_Bam!_

I slammed the door again and left the room. This was a technique I learnt and called 'shout and slam', it was an effective technique to scold people and ran away before they could counterattack.

Well, I should get going…but I don't know where to go.

I looked at the hallway and started thinking. Judging from the time now, it is probably just third period in the morning. All the NPCs would be in class right now.

_This means any other students I meet out of classrooms are probably human!_

I came into a smart conclusion and finalized my plan, it was-

Walk around in school - found students loitering even though it's time for class - bring the humans to Otonashi-san

Let's do that right now!

* * *

"Why are you eating mapo tofu as breakfast, Kazuko-chan? Wait is that already the fourth plate?"

"!"

Mafuyu reminded me as I almost choked on my last bite of mapo tofu for the fourth plate. Even though my plan should have been flawless, a tiny bug still occurred.

It happened half an hour ago, I started patrolling the cafeteria and saw a ticket of mapo tofu lying on the ground. Someone must have accidentally bought it and left it on the ground. I picked the ticket happily and went to buy a plate of mapo tofu. I don't feel full so I continued buying more and more…

"Crap! I used up all my mapo tofu ticket for today!"

"I am more surprised by the fact that you can actually eat four plates of mapo tofu..."

Mafuyu muttered and sat down with her plate of curry with rice in front of me. Mafuyu is the only friend I have now. If I want to ask for advice, the time is now.

"Mafuyu-chan…What should I do to find a student who breaks school rules…"

"…I never knew that you were actually into bad boys, I thought you only have eyes for the president?"

"The one who is telling me to find that kind of people is the president."

"The president is into bad girls!?"

Mafuyu lost it and shouted it out. Mafuyu tried to say something more but I quickly covered her mouth. The damage to Yuzuru's reputation has already been done with that outburst; there were a lot of murmurings around us around. It would be soon when the rumour of Yuzuru liking bad girls reached his ears.

Too bad that was far from the truth. Yuzuru only likes quiet and nice people like Kanade nee-chan. I really doubted that Yuzuru would actually like a bad girl…

…Wait…wasn't there a bad- or rather, a mischievous girl called Nakamura Yuri from the SSS…?

… …

Wait, didn't he almost fall for her?

Wait, wait, wait…Yuzuru already have a lot of positive feelings for Nakamura-san before he talked to Kanade…

…If he did not talk to Kanade nee-chan to raise her flag, he would have probably followed Nakamura-san until the end…they would probably get along well together…

So Yuzuru actually likes bad girls too!?

"...So he is actually into that kind of girls… …"

"…Are you still with me? Kazuko-chan? You are blushing, Kazuko-chan."

"Hu-Huh!? Ah…it's just the mapo tofu!"

"But I thought mapo tofu was not spicy to you…?"

"More importantly, about the bad students…"

"Say no more, Kazuko-chan! I will solve your problem for you!"

"Eh?"

I stared at Mafuyu who has just finished her curry in a hurry. She stood up from her seat with eyes of confidence and determination. It would have been a good thing if she really wanted to help me with that kind of determination.

But with that powerful but dangerous aura of hers emitting out at full power, my body cells were warning me from experience that I should escape with all I could while I still have the chanc-

"Don't even think about running away, Kazuko-chan! I am going to make you into a bad girl that the president will fall in love with!"

"EH!? MAFUYU-CHAN!?"

My cry went unheard as Mafuyu dragged me into the air and all the way out of the cafeteria. Even though I was stronger than Mafuyu with overdrive, I was not able to do anything with my body flying in mid-air. I could only prepare myself for the torture before Mafuyu finally reached her destination.

* * *

…_Is this really a bad girl…? From Yuzuru's memories, Nakamura-san was not like this… …_

…_more like, I looked like a slut!_

"And now, you are the perfect bad girl to seduce the president! Praise me, praise me."

"Like hell I will praise you! What have you done to me!?"

I shouted as I tried to turn my eyes from the mirror. The reflection of my image was too distracting that my eyes kept on peeking at it.

The girl in the picture has her white hair tied up roughly in a pony-tail. The buttons on her blazer uniform were undone and her skirt was cut shortened to the point that if she ran with large steps, she would be flashing to the entire afterlife world. Even below she was wearing stockings and garters on each thigh and boots instead of school shoes.

If Yuzuru saw me in this state, I do not think I can live with this shame anymore.

"This is just a slut! A bad girl that I knew dressed nothing like this!"

"Slut? You are over-exaggerating, Kazuko-chan. This kind of fashion is quite popular with the modern girls. Actually you are already wearing quite decently. Your hair is within school regulation, I wondered why do they don't have hair colour regulation though. Unbuttoned blazers are actually permitted but our schools are full of so-called 'perfect ladies' so they don't do that. Well your boots, stockings and garters may be a bit…well breaking the rule is part of what a bad girl is about!"

"I don't want this! Turn me back! I will really die if Yuzuru actually see me like this!"

I clanged onto Mafuyu and cried. Not just Yuzuru, if any of the students saw me and told the whole school about it, I would not be able to see anyone's face anymore! I have to get rid of this sinful attire!

"Calm down, Kazuko-chan. Remember, the president told you to find bad students, right? The easiest way to find these kinds of people is to become one of them and have them invite you into their gang. They will never notice that you are actually a spy from the student council!"

"…Really…?"

I hesitated and asked. Even though my instincts were telling me not to trust Mafuyu, my mission to find the human came first. I have to do this, even if Mafuyu's smile is really creeping me out now.

"This is your chance, Kazuko-chan! There are not much people out there except bad students who break the rules! You should go out there and find them now!"

"But what if there are teachers around!?"

"Then you just have to adapt to the situation! Good luck~!"

_Bam!_

"Mafuyu-chan!"

I cried when Mafuyu pushed me out of her room and locked the door. If I was not prohibited by the president to avoid using overdrive, I would have broken down the door already-

"-bana-chan, Tachibana-chan, is that you!?"

"Kyaaaa!"

"Gu-ah!?"

Without thinking, I dashed and kneed Reeichi, who appeared at the wrong moment and saw me, in the stomach. His voice was stuck in his throat as I delivered a swift chop down his neck. Reeichi fell silently onto the ground without moving anymore.

"… …"

….hu….

…huhu hahahaha!

That's it! I will knock out anyone that sees me in this state! I don't care about the NPCs anymore! Even if it's Yuzuru I will not hesitate to stab his eyes with my fingers to blind him!

"Now…time to find this human that caused all this mess…"

I muttered as I walked down the hallway, my senses at maximum. A teacher that turned around the corner only saw a flash of white hair before he suffered a kick from the air to his neck. I hid the teacher's unconsciousness body and continued.

The hunt began.

* * *

A dangerous enemy has appeared in the afterlife school.

I made my conclusion and armed my personal Glock 17 pistol with the last remaining magazine I have left in this world. There would probably be some more weapons and magazines back in Guild but I have not time. There has been disappearance of teachers and students with the rumour of a criminal in the school. There was no doubt about it, this 'criminal' was no doubt a human.

Kazuko…I wondered where was she? She probably missed the criminal. It would probably be the best if Kazuko do not encounter the criminal, she still do not know how to face situations like this.

If the criminal was someone as strong as Shiina, I would be in deep trouble. But I have improved a lot since I joined the SSS. I should have enough skills to at least protect myself.

I hid some knives under my blazer and set off from the student council's room. To be frank, I was quite bored. An exciting event like this would be fun from time to time.

I walked through the hallway with my pistol in my hand. It was great that the NPCs could not see the gun or else it would have caused a commotion. I double-checked my gun's condition and moved on.

I do not excel in melee range fighting like Kanade and Yuri. If I lose my Glock, my chance of winning would be dramatically lowered. I have to be aware of how many bullets I have left in my gun.

"-ah!"

He's over there!

The sound was from over a corner. My grip on my gun tightened as I ran in the hallway towards the corner. This was the second time I was in a combat mood after the fight with the shadows. The shadows were dangerous but easy to shoot from a range with. However humans were smart, we were born with the skills to hunt. We knew how to plan and attack.

In this case, I quickly leapt back before I stepped out of my corner, just in the nick of time to dodge a roundhouse kick that came from the other corner. If my body did not instinctively react in time, I would probably be blown away by the sheer blow of that kick. From her leg, I could tell that it was a girl.

Before I could counterattack, the girl jumped over me and landed behind me. An ordinary girl would not have been able to do a stunt like that. The worst case of another Shiina has happened.

I rolled to the front before her hand could hit my neck. I studied about this before back when I was learning to be a doctor. There were pressure points at our necks. If someone hit them, the victim would be easily rendered unconsciousness. This girl knew how to fight, this was not going to be easy.

But I am a combat veteran, I am not going down.

I quickly rose from the ground and blocked a kick that I have predicted. The girl's speed was a lot faster than mine, the power behind her kick was not small too. In fact it was too strong that I dropped my gun due to the pain. I have to play my cards carefully to win against her.

The girl was inhumanly fast, I could not even get a chance to catch a glimpse at her face. I only saw the female boots that she wore when she was trying to kick me. The girl managed to hide her face as she then dashed towards my side and prepared to kick me from my blind spot.

Although my body could not react as fast as the girl, my mind was already producing calculations on how to counter against the girl. I could not beat the girl's speed but I could win her in tactic.

I would not be fast enough to block the second kick. So I let my body dropped towards the floor to evade that kick. Before I hit the ground face first, I twisted my body and kicked the girl, who wanted to use this chance to hit me from above, away. I could see that my right leg hit the girl's only left arm as she used it to block my kick. However my left leg still reached her body.

Wait…only left arm?

For that brief moment, I saw Kazuko's new look.

She long white hair was tied up in a ponytail and was wearing her blazer unbuttoned. Even her skirt was significantly cut and shortened, in fact it was already flashing at me. On her legs she was wearing garters on her tights with stockings and boots instead of normal white socks and school shoes.

If not for her crimson red eyes and missing right arm, I would have never been able to tell that the girl was actually Kanade's clone or even Kazuko.

Kazuko realized that I was staring at her new look in shock already. Her face was as red as a tomato and her eyes looked as though she was about to cry. Tears could already be seen at the corner of her eyes already.

I tried to get up from the ground and called up to her.

"Kazu-"

_Bang!_

A loud gunshot echoed throughout the hallway. At first I wondered where the sound came from. However when the familiar feeling of pain in my abdomen registered in my mind, I realized what happened.

_I have been shot…_

The culprit was just standing behind Kazuko. She probably did not notice him because she had her full attention on me during the fight or else she would have intercepted it. The student has unusual long black hair despite being a boy and a pair of headphones hanging around his neck. My Glock 17 fell onto the floor from the student's shaking hands. This was probably the first time he shot someone. He reminded me of the time when I first shot Kanade. I was also scared back then.

"Ah….Follow me!"

The student grabbed Kazuko's left hand and ran. I could see that Kazuko wanted to turn back. That shot must have hit a vital spot, I was bleeding profusely and losing consciousness soon.

Even so, I managed to give a thin smile to Kazuko. That thin smile was enough for Kazuko to understand me.

She turned away from me and focused running away with the human. Since the NPCs were new, they were not used to the sound of gunshot and gathered around me. Kazuko and the human slowly disappeared from my vision as I lost consciousness.

…_Go help him…Kazuko…_

* * *

**A/N: And that's the end of the third chapter. I know I am mean, giving suspense the last chapter, after a long time, refuse to give more information but more suspense. XD **

**To answer Gixagne's question, Be Human is a spin-off from Harmonics Girl, or you can also interpret it as another world that Midori created. This is still undecided but since it does not affect the plot now I am not going to make a solid decision yet.**

**X-Blade99: Thanks for the reminder, I totally forgot about her arm. Her arm is in a middle of considering. I might as well add more story that can revolve around Kazuko trying to get an arm.**

**Please read and review! Once Harmonics Girl is finished, this story will become first priority!**


	4. Character List (Not a new chapter XD)

**Angel Beats Be Human Character list!**

**From: 1337kenjichau**

**First Name: Kai**

Last Name: Shiro

Flaw: Lazy

Personality: Kai is usually a quiet and mysterious guy, but sometimes he gets excited and becomes more social. He can be very lazy at times and would find a nice shady tree for a nap. He exceeds at everything he does and is good with any kind of weapon. Even though he hardly shows it, he cares deeply about his friends and would do anything to keep them safe.

How he died: Hit by a big truck while rushing somewhere on foot

Regret: Not being able to say goodbye to someone special to him

Appearance: 16 years old with long black hair and cyan eyes. Usually has a headphone around his neck.

Secret: Childhood friend of Tachibana Kanade

**From: Gixagne**

**Name: Kurou**

Last Name: Morisaka

Flaws: a shrieking sound from blackboard

Personality: Kind, hardworker, perfectionist.

How he dead: his parents passed and left himself into a huge debt on a Yakuza family which force him to join them and work for them until his family debt paid off. but in the same time, he had a kind girlfriend who always encourage him for keep alive. one day, he got himself in a middle between a fight between 2 Yakuza family. when he raiding his enemy's mansion, he found that his girlfriend is his enemy leader's daughter. knowed it, his boss order him for shoot her. under confusion between order and love, one of his partner shoot his girlfriend first. under despair, he rebel his family and ended killed.

Appearance: blue eyes, straight short navy hair, wore red shirt under his NPC outfit.

**Name: Azusa**

Last name: Manaka

Flaws: Thunder

Personality: docile, compliant, low self-esteem, pessimist.

How she died: when she alive, she had no friend in her school. When she finally trying to befriend with a girl on her class, she made a mistake and got bullied by her whole classmates except one boy who defend her. But, one day he didn't come and she got bullied by her girl classmates which love that boy on rooftop. She got pushed into guardrail and falling down cause an instant death.

Appearance: black eyes, long black hair and wear an ordinary NPC outfit.

**Name: Shino**

Last name: Kazamine

Flaws: Hoplophobia (badly scared when saw a firearm)

Personality: cool, mature, introvert.

How she died: when she was alive, his father is a high-ranked Politician. one day, a group of gangster kidnap her and her 'only' 3 friends. when she awake, her friends are got raped and humiliated. the kidnapper ask a ransom to her father in 24 hours or she'll killed. under those hours, she got raped and one of the kidnapper use his gun and shot her friends one by one on every part of their body. unable to handle her emotion, she fight against them but she got shot. filled by anger, one kidnapper shot all her hand fingers one by one and finally shot her in the head 30 minutes before the ransom come.

Appearance: light brown eyes, sky blue short hair with a hairpin, wore glasses and ordinary NPC outfit.

**Name: Touka**

Last name: Ohmiya

Flaws: Reptiles

Personality: Outgoing, selfish, hotblooded, funny.

How he dead: after reach his goal to be an ace in his highschool soccer team, he got a car accident which amputee one of his leg and make him quit. right after his out from hospital, all of his teammates stay away from him. curious on these, he make an investigation on her friends and finds out that one of his teammate is the one who make him lost his leg. after knowing it, he put a fight with him and accidentally got his throat stabbed by a shard of broken window glass.

Appearance: red eyes, red spiky hair, wear a hoodie under his NPC outfit.

**From: Galgle**

**Name: Ryosha**

Last name: Irie

Flaws: He has two mindsets, but he can't consciously switch between the two, so sometimes, people have a hard time putting up with him (it's not schizophrenia, he just acts differently depending on the mindset. This is something that I actually have, and I was tested, but I am not a schizophrenic, so yes, this is possible.)

Personality: 1st personality-really energetic, enthusiastic, and optimistic. Laughs, teases people, and jokes around a lot. 2nd personality extremely calm and collected. Understand jokes and everything, but doesn't really react. Always has a blank face and talks with a monotone voice. Pretty much a stoic person.

How she/he died: Because of his "split personalities", he didn't have many friends, but he was on a bike race against a girl that befriended him. She went too fast around a turn and fell into a river. He enters a state of shock, so he jumps in and saves her. In the process of saving her though, he gets swept away in the current and drowns.

Most important detail of all, He's actually a ridiculously selfless person, saying he willingly threw away his life for that girl. All he wanted to do was help people, but he died thinking that the only thing he ever achieved in his life was almost killing the girl.

Appearance: a little bit on the short side, but he's well built because he's a trained swimmer. He has jet black hair which is just long enough to get in front of his eyes, but he usually brushes it off to the right side. His eyes are a very, very light brown, which are gleaming when in his first personality, or blank when in the second.

**From: Misaka 20.001**

**Name: Azusa**

Last name: Kamisaka

Flaws: she become another person when hold her Desert Eagle. A cold bloded girl who will kill anyone who hurt her friend or family even just one punch.

Personality: she is a lazy with cheerfull personality, like teasing anyone and bite anyone who teas her. she is like a wild cat, when in active mode (ie : Night time and indoor) she is running everywhere to do pranks but when you throw her into sun light, she will become very lazy even to move. the only way to stop her is by grab her back side of her collar or pat her head (she is sexually sensitive in that place.)

How she/he died: shot by her own dad after killing three terrorist. her father scared if this girl will be prisoned so he think die is the most realistic choice than embarrassing Kamisaka family.

Appearance: her hair reach her knee but she is short stature and childlike body, she is fast to dodge and almost impossible to catch due that body of her. proud to be pettan and always wear an over-sized ribbon in her head.

* * *

**This will be update continuously if OCs keep on coming in. If I have missed out any OCs that you have given me please PM me. I would not be able to guarantee their appearance since I am focusing on one human at a time but this is a good place to store OCs.**

**Currently writing chapter 4, stay tuned!**


	5. Chapter 4 My dearest Friend

**Angel Beats: Be Human**

**Disclaimer: I** **do** **not own** **Angel Beats**

**Warning: I** **am still studying so please** **forgive me if there is too much grammar mistake**

**Chapter 4**

**My dearest Friend**

**HIGHLY RECOMMENDED BGM: Unjust life, My most precious treasure (Angel Beats) **

**It was raining and dark. The rain fell mercilessly upon the two silhouettes dashing through the forest. The boy did not know where he was heading but he could not care less. The only thing screaming in his mind was to get the person in his arms to back to her warm and safe home.**

**That's right, **_**her**_**. The boy was reminded about how precious the girl was to him. His eyes hardened with more determination and willed his muscles to run faster than he was capable of. Occasionally he would slip from the slippery path and fell, however never once the girl was fallen off his hands or hit the muddy ground. Even when he was falling forward, he would twist and land on his back to protect the girl and get back up for the run.**

**Time was running out for the boy, the quickened pacing of the girl's breathing told him that the girl's fever was getting worse. If he did not get her to a hospital soon, she may die.**

**She may leave him forever.**

"**Hold on, Kanade! I will definitely bring you to the hospital! Please hold on!"**

**The boy screamed, as if to the cruel gods who chose to rain upon the sick girl than the girl herself. The girl in his arm was everything, she was his world. He would stand against god if god was the one that gave her a sick body.**

**Unknown to the boy, the weak and fragile girl's hand clutched onto the boy's shirt. She was barely consciousness. Looking up at the boy under his arm, the girl smiled and muttered**

"**-"**

* * *

"Ha….ha…."

"… …"

The human collapsed and leaned against the wall after running around the school for more than twenty minutes. We were trying to hide from the teachers and ended up taking shelter in one of the empty classrooms. Since I have Overdrive, a twenty minute jog was nothing to me but apparently it was tiring for the human. The memory shared between us was cut off the moment he let go of his hand from my only left hand.

"You…are you a human too?"

The human regained his breathing and asked. I would have wanted to retort that the person he just shot was actually the first human in this 'new' Afterlife school but the mission came first. To gain more information about this human, I should interact with him first.

"… …"

"…What's wrong?"

The boy asked while I turned my eyes away from him. I just realized a fact that put me in a great pinch.

I have always been bad at interaction with people.

I could get along well with Mafuyu and Reeichi because they were NPC, quite familiar to a clone being like me. Yuzuru was the only human I have talked to. Heck I only started to learn how to communicate after I met Yuzuru.

I am in a big pinch.

"Could it be that you are mute?"

_*nod *nod_

I quickly grabbed that opportunity and nodded my head. If I pretended that I was mute, then I would not need to talk at all! At the very least I could first start off as a mute to understand humans.

The boy then started searching through his pocket. His face lit up in delight as he found what he was searching for.

"So you are mute… … here, this will help us to communicate with each other."

**You have gained human's note book!**

**You have gained human's pen!**

**You have learned communication by writing!**

I accepted the note book and pen and writing-

"… …"

Frustrated, I headed towards one of the tables in the classroom and put the note book on top of it before I started writing. Without my right hand, I could not hold a pen and a note book at the same time. This was getting troublesome.

'My name is Kazuko, nice to meet you.'

I showed the human what I wrote as I purposely left out my surname. The human's eyes lit up in surprise as he was reminded he forgot to introduce himself.

"My name is Kai. Nice to meet you, Kazuko-chan."

_*nod_

I nodded my head in acknowledgement. Exclaiming a breath of relief, Kai sat down on one of the chairs. After I sat down, he cut to the chase and immediately asked.

"You are a human like me, aren't you? You are not those over-casual classmates, right?"

'Calling them over-casual is rude, they are just not human.'

I scribbled down on the note book and showed to him again. Kai read my words before he sweat dropped.

"Isn't calling them not human even rude?"

'It's fine. They are really not human in the first place.'

"…so they are not human…I have a feeling that they are not the same as us but... how do you know they are not human? I only noticed the second day I arrived here when I realized everyone here do not have a memory of their death and were too 'kind'."

'Their kindness is repaid with suspicion. How pitiful.'

"Did anyone tell you that your 'tsukomi' skills are too good?"

'Thanks for the praise.'

For the next few minutes, Kai and I chatted with each other while we exchanged information about this world. I left out some parts like the Student Council and the term NPC to describe the residents of this world. At the end of the conversation, I knew that Kai only arrived in this school three days ago.

"That guy with the gun…who is he? Why did he attack you?"

I was expecting that question.

'I don't know. He attacked me suddenly when I was skipping class. Thank you for saving me.'

"It was nothing. You can always count on a fellow human."

The huma- I meant Kai blushed in embarrassment after I thanked him.

Even though the one who actually attacked first was actually me…for the sake of freeing Kai from this world, I will have to use this 'white' lie. I certainly do not want to repeat the mistake Kanade-Nee chan did with the SSS. If Yuzuru did not appear, they would never stop fighting each other.

"Then it is actually possible that guy is a human too. If we can get him into our side, we will get to know how he brings a firearm to afterlife."

'You are going to get that dangerous person to our side? He has a gun.'

I reminded Kai about the situation. Even though I do not show it, I was concern about how Kai actually said 'our side'.

_That means he already trusted me, it was as if he knew me before._

_No…not me, __**her.**_

For us Harmonics clones, we do not inherit nor have the memories the original had. There was only one way to know if Kai really knew Kanade in the past. It was going to take time but I have to slowly get Kai to open up to me.

'Let's try scouting around the school to find more allies. We will have better chance to convince him to join us if our numbers grow.'

"Good point. That guy should still be wounded from the shot I fired just now. We have probably twenty minutes before that guy is completely healed and come after us for vengeance. I did shot him after all…"

Kai sweat dropped and realized he made a fatal decision of shooting Yuzuru. It was unlikely that anyone would join force with the one that killed them. Though, it was unlikely that Yuzuru would come after us even after he was healed. At the last moment, he decided to leave this guy to me.

I promised to become better than Kanade. Kanade used to help people to move on. If I could not even help Kai who trusted me to move on from his regrets, I would not be able to face my sisters who sacrificed for me.

I stood up and kept the note book and pen inside my pocket. Kai stood this as a signal to start moving and followed. We exited the classroom and headed towards the opposite direction where we first came.

* * *

It has been two minutes since we left the classroom. We arrived at the block opposite the one where Kai shot Yuzuru. Through the window, I could still see the crowd of students gathering around that area. There were cleaners cleaning up the blood and Yuzuru has probably been send to the infirmary to rest.

"Kazuko-chan…is this really the afterlife?"

Kai's words drew my attention away from the window. My eyes were seeking a place to set the note book down to write but Kai was faster. He took the note book from my pocket and held it so I could write. I was grateful that Kai thought of this idea or else I would find trouble to reply to Kai every time.

'Why do you ask? Didn't you die?'

Kai read my reply and smiled- no, it was a sad, hopeless smile. I have seen that kind of smile before. It was the same as Yuzuru's when he was showing me his memories of his death.

Death, an end to life. When I was first created, there was no importance of life because eternal death does not exist here. However that changed when all my sisters _died_.

Life is precious because Death awaits. Without death, life has no meaning.

In a place like Afterlife where lift and death do not exist, what is the importance left for this world?

_No… something important exists here. That is_

Memory of life and death.

"I do not have any memory about my life. The only thing I remembered was after I was hit by a truck, someone was yelling 'Kai'. I do not even know if Kai is really my name at all. It might just be an outsider shouting a random name."

I snapped my neck and glanced at Kai. He was not grieving. Most people that came to afterlife hated their life and the unfairness towards them. But Kai has nothing to grieve, he could not even remember why was he here.

… …then why was Yuzuru here?

One without any regrets, one who lost his memories.

Why does Afterlife bring them here, when they have no place in this world? They have no memories, no life. Only death.

"But yesterday at the cafeteria, I remembered something. In that memory I seemed to lost someone important. Just now when I was running with you, I remembered a bit of the girl I lost. At this rate, I might probably be able to remember what kind of life I had when I was alive."

This time, Kai was smiling brightly. Inside that smile, there was hope of life. Even when he was dead, he could try to find back his memories like Yuzuru did.

But-

"… …even… …"

"..Kazuko-chan?"

Kai noticed I stopped following him and turned back. He was about to hand me his note book but I turned it away.

What was I doing? I stayed here not just because I wanted to surpass Kanade. Deep inside my heart I knew that it was only an excuse.

I am an existence of this world. I have nowhere else to go but here. Yuzuru was the one that accepted my existence. If Yuzuru did not accept me, I would not have accepted myself as a resident of this world.

That's why I want to help Yuzuru to thank him. But there was more than one reason that I have to use my own voice instead of hiding behind paper and pen.

"Even if only despair lies at the end of your life, do you still want to remember it?"

I don't want Kai to suffer the same kind of suffering like Yuzuru.

From that memory in the forest, I knew how important that girl to Kai was. However Kai lost her. It was unknown that if that girl was Kanade but-

Whoever she was, she died before Kai. She was Kai's source of despair.

"What are you talking about? Could it be that you actually knew me when I was alive?"

"No. We have never met before. Even if you think you have, she is not me. Since you do not have much memory for your past, you are unable to understand the nature of this world."

Just like how Yuzuru was able to remain as a bright and positive person in this forsaken world. Even though he knew that only those that died with regret would come to this world, he only realized the true pain when he gained back his memories.

"What do you mean the nature of this world? Isn't this just the afterlife where people come after they die?"

"People don't just come here when they die, Kai. You might not know but, the humans that you are going to encounter from now on are all going to be different from you."

"What do you-"

"Kazuko-chan! This is bad!"

"Mafuyu-chan!?"

I turned around and saw Mafuyu running towards us. She halted in front of us and shouted.

"Someone is at the rooftop! She said that she is going to jump!"

""What!?""

"Oi! Kai!"

I called after him when he just sprinted towards the stairs to the rooftop after hearing about the news. I was about to catch up but I have to confirm something with Mafuyu first.

"That girl, what did she say other than she was going to jump?"

"Now is not the time, Kazuko-chan! I think she said something about her classmates are not humans- those are not important! Don't you have to help save her!?"

It was rare to see Mafuyu in such a panic mood but I could understand. It must be a surprising event even for NPCs when someone was going to commit suicide, especially these new NPCs that were just born.

"Help me get Otonashi-san to the scene! He should be in the infirmary or the student council office!"

"I got it!"

I left the job to notify the president in Mafuyu's hand and quickly headed after Kai. The girl probably just arrived in this world today and does not know that she could not die. It would have been fine if I explained the situation of this world to her after she jumped down.

_No, that is not something Otonashi-san would have done._

I thought as I finally saw the door to the rooftop. When I reached the final step, I reminded myself.

_I still have a situation to settle with Kai as well._

* * *

Second floor-

Third floor-

Fourth floor-

The stairs seemed to continue up and up forever, as if the Afterlife itself was trying to stop me from reaching the suicidal girl.

It seemed as though the further I went up, the longer the stairs became and waiting at the end was just _another_ death.

_**Why are you trying so hard to save that girl? Even if she falls, she would only die. You also experienced your second death by cutting yourself to prove your immortality.**_

She is different! That girl is trying to commit suicide!

_**So?**_

So? What is wrong saving another human's life?

_**A suicidal person does not want to be saved. You are just like what Kazuko said. You do not understand anything. You do not know the nature of this world.**_

Who are you! Why are you in my mind!? Why do you have the same voice as mine!?

I screamed within myself, questioning the voice mocking my efforts.

My heart was about to burst, and I felt light-headed, tempted to stop and catch my breathing.

**It was no use.**

**You are weak. You would not make it in time, just like before.**

**Even if you reach there, what would you, a clueless person who understand nothing help the girl, when you failed to save the one you cherished so much?**

I will definitely save her! Even if we can't die, I won't let anyone commit suicide! People should learn to cherish their second chance in life!

**There is no second chance in life, Kai. You will learn that soon enough.**

As the voice faded, the end of the staircase I'd imagined might spiral on forever was a heavy door. I practically threw myself against it to open it.

I shielded myself from the gust of wind that intruded when the door opened. When my eyes opened, I thought.

The evening sky looked strangely crimson but lovely.

A girl was standing at the other side of the railing.

Her wispy frame seemed horrifyingly unstable. She could fall and die any second.

My legs automatically tried to get close to her. However her piercing scream forced my leg to a standstill.

"If you come any nearer, I will jump!"

The girl looked horrified, as if she never anticipated that anyone would come to stop her. I stood my ground and started to talk her out of it. I should be able to buy some time before the teachers here would probably do something like putting bed below.

I am not counting on the 'fake' teachers, but it is my last resort- no my last hope if she falls.

"Calm down. Both of us are humans, we are the same so there is no need to fear me."

I said softly and gently as possible to get my words through her. Her long black hair fluttered in the wind as her pupils were focused onto me. I tried to take a step forward but she immediately reacted.

"Don't come any nearer! Everyone here is a liar! I just want to leave this kind of fake world as fast as possible!"

"Don't do it!"

I quickly dashed forward. The girl saw my approach and let go of her hand from the railing. Slowly, like a magician trying to perform a magic, her figure slowly fell.

"Don't be stupid!"

"!"

I grabbed hold of the girl's arm through railing with my body landing flat on the ground.

My shoulders heaving with each ragged breath and strained it to never let go of the girl.

The girl looked up and stared at me. When I looked close into her eyes, my heart swelled.

Despair, that was the emotion my heart felt when I saw what was inside the girl's eyes.

"You… you never had an unfair life, don't you?"

…_**You might not know but, the humans that you are going to encounter from now on are all going to be different from you…**_

…_**You do not understand anything. You do not know the nature of this world…**_

The cruel words echoed in the back of my mind as the girl in my hand mocked me with a rueful smile.

"You… you are here, new and alive in this new world. Why do you want to die again? This world is a second chance-"

"Don't screw with me!"

The girl shouted a fierce scream unfitted for her small figure. In her eyes, other emotions started to pour out as translucent beads began to well up in her eyes. Her tears seemed to spring from the pain that her feelings would never be understood.

"There is no such thing as a second chance in life. You only live once! No matter how unfair my life was, that was my life! Now, living in a fake, dream like world is not living at all!"

"The past is the past! You have to survive and look at the present!"

"Do not mock my life! I am the result of my unfair life! There is no way to start a new life here. My life is back in the cruel but real world! No matter how hopeless was it, it was my life! I am but just an empty shell here! There's nothing here for me!

"…Just let me die here. I don't want to continue this kind of unfair life."

"Even so, dying is-"

"What do you understand about my suffering? You will never understand! No one in this world will!"

The girl's voice was growing more erratic and even more despair crept into her glistering eyes. She started to struggle in my arms, hoping to shake me off. I wanted to convince her more to not give up on life. I opened my mouth and shouted.

But nothing came out.

It was not that my words were stuck in my throat but there were no words at all.

It was like she said, I could not understand anything.

My arm was starting to get weak. It was not because I was weak, but I was lacking the motivation to save her. Or rather, I could not find any reason to save her anymore.

Slowly bit by bit, my arm loses strength as her fragile hand slowly slipped out of my grip.

Just before she fell, I saw a thin rueful smile of the girl.

It was unfair, being thanked for letting her die.

The girl then fell out of my grasp-

"I can understand!"

A hand stretched out beside me and grabbed hold of hers.

For a second, I thought an angel had appeared.

Her white hair fluttered with the evening breeze. Both the girl and I were enchanted by the girl that suddenly came.

And our visions turned dark.

* * *

**Living is lonely. This is how I see the world before me in solitude.**

**I was always alone,**

**On mild spring days,**

**On sweltering summer days,**

**On chilly autumn days,**

**And on winter days that make you shiver.**

**No one noticed my presence, like a rock on the side of the road. No one knew where I was or what I was doing. I was like an insignificant shadow passing through everyone's lives.**

**But it was fine, I was fine with an isolated life. During the first day of school, I knew that I was different from others. I could not interact well with people.**

**When my classmates were discussing about group work, I was sitting at the side, out of their discussion.**

**When the class was having a birthday party, I was standing at the corner, eating the cake while watching everyone laughing together.**

**I was always standing at the side, nobody would remember or care for my presence.**

**But that was fine, to me, it was in solitude that I was least alone.**

**I was happy watching my classmates discussing seriously about group work. It was not lonely to see my classmates being active in their work.**

**When the class was having a birthday party, I was content with just standing at the side, enjoying their warmth that I would never be able to join in. Even if I could not join in, just being beside them was enough for me.**

**I was contented with the life of being a 'bystander' from the background. For someone like me who could not make any friends, basking in their warmth was good enough for me.**

**But one day, just because of that day, everything changed when someone noticed the invisible shadow hiding in the background.**

"**You are Azusa Manaka-san, aren't you? Do you mind if I have lunch with you?"**

**During lunch break, a girl suddenly approached me with such request. It was an event that never happened to me before, just like how in a drama series, you should have never noticed the background character that only existed for the mood.**

**But I was found, and truth to be told, I was baffled with the turn of events. I wondered if my ears heard wrongly or I was hallucinating. However it turned out to be true when the girl sat down in front of me and started a conversation with me.**

**Ever since then, something was born in my heart.**

**No, something that has been sealing itself for all these time has been released. My heart was throbbing with anticipation during the entire break. When the break ended, I was glad that this precious time finally ended, or else I would not be able to compose myself with the quiet girl that I was.**

**But when I got back home, something was burning inside me. Even though I ignored all this time, today's interaction got **_**it**_** back again.**

**The desire for a friend was back again.**

**It hurts. It hurts when my heart swelled for a company. My world of solitude was shattered. I was no longer able to just stand at the background. The warmth that I used to love to bask in became a poison.**

**It became a drug, and I became a drug addict.**

**Those days trying to keep myself invisible and in the background was painful. My heart wanted to jump in and become a character of their story. However my body knew what was best for me, it tried to keep me from harm as much as possible.**

**But I was a drug addict, it was not long before my body started to lose to my heart's greed.**

**Slowly as if my body was enchanted by the drug of friendship, I slowly stepped out of the shadows. I could see myself being colorful instead of dull gray in the background. Like a bee chasing after honey, my body found itself heading towards the table of the girl that had lunch with me.**

"**Erm…Can I have lunch with you?"**

**It was a normal request, a request I seen so many times people asked when I was hiding in the background.**

**But to me, that line was full of greed and selfishness. It was said with the addictive desire to embrace that warmth that I lost a long time ago.**

"**Sure, why not?"**

**The girl kindly smiled. To me, it was a smile of salvation.**

**I sat down and tore down the mask of the quiet girl that I had. I enjoyed every moment of the break I could have and basked in the warmth of this new founding sensation. She was even kind enough to trade food with me. I happily accepted the deal and ate my lunch that tasted different from usual. It was strangely colorful and addictive. I have never had a meal as delicious as this.**

**And that was the last meal I had with the girl before she was gone.**

**The next day, the girl never appeared in class anymore.**

**The teacher explained that the girl has always been a sick person and her condition suddenly worsened. Her condition was so fatal that she has been hospitalized. My classmates were all worried about her.**

**But I was not. Instead, my heart was telling me to use this as an excuse to visit her and become closer. From that moment, I knew that I was sick. I was so ashamed that my heart's thirst for that kind and warmth moment was actually stronger than the thought of worrying about her condition.**

**But what the teacher said next disrupted every single thought in my head, my heart also stopped beating, just to take in what the teacher said.**

"**Manaka-san, is it true that you are the one that give her the spoiled food and caused her to be hospitalized?"**

… **What? That is absurd! She is the only person I can start to befriend with. Why would I ever try to hurt her!?**

**My thoughts screamed in my mind, but not at the outside. I hoped someone would save me, would stand up for me to say that I was not at fault.**

…**I hoped for someone's help? That never happened before.**

…**Why do I need anyone's support? This never happened before.**

**It was until too late, during that homeroom lesson, I realized that I was not an invisible shadow anymore.**

**The teacher never questioned me anymore after seeing my silent figure. He concluded the topic and declared the end of homeroom.**

**But it was not the end of the case.**

**Classmates, boys and girls alike started to prey on me. It could be for many reasons, some used the girl's condition to 'punish' me. Some simply started to approach me and started making my life miserable without any word. I became an easy prey for everyone to bully and make fun of.**

**How I wished to hide back in the shadows, being invisible again! But I already crossed the boundary of no return. It was impossible for anyone to overlook a 'colored' person like me anymore. There was no end to their bullying, my life became distorted and I was never able to walk without fear anymore.**

**I remembered, there was this boy who protected my from the classmates' villainous acts. He was the class representative. Often he would try to persuade our classmates to stop disturbing me anymore. From time to time, he would try to talk to me to cheer me up and comforted me.**

**But my heart rejected his kindness. The drug of friendship that I was so addicted to became a taboo. My heart refused to take in any kind of warmth anymore. What was left inside it to fill the missing gap was only despair.**

**It was not long before the class representative was absence. On that very day, my classmates went out of control.**

**My chair was broken.**

**My book was torn.**

**My bag was missing.**

**My wallet was stolen.**

**My table was vandalized.**

**All of these happened in one day, just because the class representative was not there to stop them.**

**And in the end, everything ended on the rooftop where I was confronted with the girls of my class. It was a hopeless situation, there were six of them.**

**They slapped me, I told myself I deserved this.**

**They hit me, I told myself I deserved this.**

**They slapped me, I told myself I deserved this.**

**At the end, they pushed me down from the rooftop, and then I told myself.**

**This was what I deserved for trying to touch the forbidden fruit.**

**I should have never tried to find friendship. Since young, I knew that I could not get any friends. That was the very reason why I became an invisible shadow, so that I would not be harmed by the reality of the real world.**

**In the end, it was my own fault.**

**I…**

**I should have never tried to make friends.**

* * *

"It was no one's fault! There is nothing wrong trying to make friends! You were lonely, that was why you wanted friends! Your classmates do not matter here, your desire to have friends is definitely not wrong!"

I snapped my eyes opened after Memoir Touch finished its work of sharing Azusa's memories to me. Since my hand was holding onto both Kai's and Azusa's hand, Kai also received Azusa's memories.

Memories of an unfair life.

"Shut up! It was because of my selfish desire for a friend, all those things happened to me! If I never tried to pursue that little warmth, all of those would have never happened! No one would have noticed me, I would have leaded a peaceful life!

"But I touched the forbidden fruit that was never meant for me! I was never supposed to have friends, that was why I made a mask of a quiet girl, invisible to everyone! You have seen my memories, didn't you? You should have understood that!"

Azusa was crying, in the outside and in the inside. Relieving the memories of an unfair life forcefully was unfair to her. Translucent tears were flowing down across her cheeks and fell down onto the ground far below her.

It was a really unfair life for her, being bullied just because her classmates saw a quiet prey who they could bully until their heart's content. It was because all those rotten humans, she died and arrived in this Afterlife world.

If it was my first time receiving someone's memories, I would have pitied her.

But Azusa was wrong. No matter how unfair her life was, no- it was because how unfair her life was, she was blinded from the truth her heart wanted.

The truth that can only be found in the Afterlife world.

"You have led an unfair life, I know that! All your sufferings and despair were all shared with me! I have accepted everything about you! Your pain, your sadness, your suffering, your despair, your desire for a friend! I recognized and accepted all of them!"

"Then let me go! If you understand how tragic and unfair my life was, then let me die! I do not want to hold onto this life anymore!"

"No! I will never let go of this hand! Even if this world ends, I will never let you go!"

I shouted with all my breath, tightening my hold on her arm. I gathered all my emotions and poured it into my next line.

"Because I will be your friend!"

"Because of what you have gone through, I am willing to accept you as who you are! I have accepted all of your sufferings and despair! It was painful, it was heart aching! But that is why I want to be your friend! Let me shoulder this pain with you!

"There is no such thing as being forbidden to have friends! Every human have the right to seek company and happiness! Even a clone like me was able to gain acceptance from Otonashi-san! That's why I will accept you, Azusa! I will be your friend!

"I will prove to you that you are innocent! I will eat lunch with you every day! I will visit your during break and talk to you about silly stuff! Even if you suffered that much despair in your life, I will help you make up by being your friend! I will make sure that you would be able to gain so much happiness that you would be able to fill that gap in your heart!

"I am willing to accept your everything, Azusa! That's why, please be friend with me! I swear that I will make you happy and be your friend forever!"

None of those words is a lie.

Every one of those words held the emotion I have for Azusa.

I want to be friend with Azusa, I want to help cure her suffering.

All of these are true from the bottom of my heart.

Azusa looked up from her position of being held by my hand.

The tears pooling in her eyes fell onto the hand that was hanging freely.

Slowly, her hand reached up and grasped my hand.

Looking up at me, she smiled, it was a smile full of renewed hope.

"Thank you, for being my friend, **Angel**."

And then, the weight hanging onto my hand disappeared.

**My dearest friend**, Azusa Manaka, disappeared from this world forever.

* * *

**A/N: This concludes chapter 4 of the Angel Beats Be Human and Azusa's arc. This became unexpected longer than I expected. I never thought that Azusa would have suddenly barged into the story. This was my first try writing a serious one like this. I used some reference from Book Girl and Little buster to help me complete this. I hope you can comment more about this to help me improve.**

**And don't forget to read and review!**


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